


He Has No Future

by alientylerjoseph



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Angst, Gen, M/M, Unhappy Ending, superhero au, um...be careful reading this honesstly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-08
Updated: 2015-06-20
Packaged: 2018-04-03 10:08:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 13,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4096933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alientylerjoseph/pseuds/alientylerjoseph
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Superhero AU where Josh can see into the future. He decides to befriend the weird kid named Tyler and sees something odd when he tries to read Tyler's future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> okay WOW this is fun to write and it's chapter one. feedback would be appreciated!

Josh decided he’d always been a little bit...strange. Not different, really. He was the same as any other person. He had goals, fears, likes and dislikes. He had two eyes, a nose, a mouth, and the right number of limbs. No, no, he was just… strange. Something in his head was different. Something that allowed him to be called a superhero. Or a monster, depended on what you thought about it. A lot of people thought the latter was true.  
Josh didn’t have a lot of friends, mostly because of his power. He didn’t understand that you weren’t supposed to tell someone that their ex was going to get back together with them, or that their dog was going to die in two weeks. Everyone always left him. That is, except for one person. His name was Tyler Joseph, and he was a little strange in the head too. He didn’t talk much; usually, it was just him and Josh at a table together, with no words being spoken. Tyler stared at his food and Josh stared at Tyler, and they both ate together. It wasn’t weird.  
“Hello, Josh,” Tyler said in his small, high-pitched voice. This was different. Tyler usually just sat down. “How are you today?”  
“I’m- I’m okay,” Josh stammered in surprise, trying to keep a calm expression on his face. “How are you?”  
“I’m good.” Tyler smiled. A small, shy smile that didn’t even include eye contact. Josh thought it was cute. Josh thought Tyler was cute, and everything he did, and everything he wore was cute. Today, Tyler was wearing a colorful shirt that was way too big for his skinny frame and black jeans. Cute. “So, I heard about your… um, power.”  
“Oh.” Josh’s stomach did a backflip. “You didn’t know about that already? Everyone knows about that.” He was rambling. Josh told himself to stop. He didn’t. “Please don’t call me a monster.” Yeah, Josh. Perfect, he thought bitterly. “Sorry.”  
“I wasn’t going to do that.” Tyler lifted his gaze and met Josh’s eyes, for the first time… ever. “I think it’s really cool, actually.” Not even a second later, Tyler was staring down at the table again. “Unless you don’t want me to think it’s cool.”  
“No, it’s fine. Um, are you going to make me use it?”  
“How does it work?” Here we go. Josh looked down at the table, which caused Tyler to hastily add, “You don’t have to talk about it if you d-don’t want to.” Josh glanced up and saw Tyler’s face going slightly pink. “It’s okay.”  
“It’s fine,” Josh said after a few seconds. They both stood up to go get their lunch, which in itself caused some not-so-friendly looks from the tables surrounding. “I’ll tell you tomorrow. And I can use it on you.”  
“Cool,” Tyler said, his face brightening a little bit. His eyes held a different, unreadable expression, however, and Josh wondered what he was thinking about. He wasn’t able to figure it out.  
“See you tomorrow, Tyler.” Josh waved at Tyler, who smiled, but only with his mouth. His eyes were still cloudy. They went their separate ways then, to go to their next classes. Josh was pretty sure he had a class or two with Tyler, but Josh sat all the way in front, Tyler all the way in back, not even paying attention. When Josh looked back at him during class, he’d be writing furiously on a notebook with half its pages torn out. Sometimes he’d bring in a new one, write, and then tear the pages out at the end of class. It was strange. Tyler was strange. Josh liked it, though.

The next day, Tyler sat down at the table, and Josh sat across from him. Tyler stared at the table for a few seconds before he looked up at Josh, his eyes curious.  
“Are you gonna show me your power?” he asked, tilting his head sideways slightly. Josh noticed how he sat in a way that would be considered kind of feminine, with one leg crossed tightly over the other, his hands in his lap. Today he was wearing a black tank top and leather jeans. Josh had to pay attention to where he was looking, or he’d find his eyes wandering down towards Tyler’s- “Josh?”  
“Oh, uh, yeah,” Josh stuttered. looking back up at Tyler’s face. “Sorry. I, uh, lost my train of… train of thought.”  
“It’s okay.” Tyler watched Josh as he stood up and walked to sit by Tyler. He didn’t lean away, which seemed like a good sign. “How does it work?”  
“I just have to touch you.” Tyler’s eyebrows went up and Josh saw his muscles tighten up. “Are… are you okay with that?”  
“Yeah,” Tyler murmured, relaxing a little bit and closing his eyes briefly. “Yeah, that’s okay.”  
“You sure? You seemed kind of scared.” When Tyler nodded, Josh reached out to touch his friend’s shoulder, but he flinched away. “Tyler?”  
“It’s- it’s okay. Sorry.” Tyler cautiously reached over and took Josh’s wrist, which took both of them by surprise. Tyler moved Josh’s hand to his shoulder, close to his neck, and rested it there. They didn’t take their eyes off each other. Josh’s vision faded to black, as it always did, and Josh waited, but no images showed up. Nothing showed up. Slowly, Josh removed his hand, his heart beginning to beat faster.  
“I gotta go,” Josh announced, his voice hasty and nervous. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” He stood up to leave, but Tyler grabbed his hand.  
“Aren’t you gonna tell me what you saw? And we haven’t even eaten yet.”   
“No, I’m...No. I can’t.” Josh’s hands were shaking now, his breathing growing unsteady. “Let me go, Tyler.” People were starting to stare; Josh could feel their gazes burning into his back. “Let me go.”  
“Fine.” Tyler dropped his hand, and Josh apologized a few times before turning and running. He couldn’t tell Tyler what he’d seen. He couldn’t tell anyone.  
Tyler had no future.


	2. The Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh and Tyler talk a little bit, and Tyler learns about what Josh saw. Kind of.

Tyler walked to the table for lunch, after worrying about Josh all day. It was the day after the incident, and Tyler hadn’t seen him in class that morning. When he wasn’t writing, he was staring at the back of Josh’s head, wondering why he always sat so far away. Wondering why he trusted himself to sit up at the front of class.  
Josh was sitting there, as normal. Tyler wondered where he’d been earlier, but decided not to ask as he sat down. “Hello, Josh,” he said, sitting down in his seat, just across from his new friend. He tried to forget yesterday’s incident, and tried harder not to ask about it. Inwardly, his mind was racing with what Josh had seen. Or… maybe what he hadn’t seen. “How are you?”  
Josh was staring at his hands, which were fidgeting with a piece of paper, folded a few times in a messy manner. He didn’t respond to Tyler’s question; in fact, he didn’t look up. He stared at the paper, his eyes clouded and unreadable, not unlike Tyler’s were the day before. Tyler hesitated before murmuring, “Josh?”  
“Oh. Hi.” Josh looked up for a moment before going back to his paper, unfolding and refolding it, folding it differently, more neatly. Tyler felt like he was bothering Josh by just being there, and he stared at the table for a few seconds before getting up. Josh looked up more abruptly this time, his eyes searching Tyler’s face. “Where’re you going?” He didn’t say ‘are’ as its own word; he kind of added it onto the end of ‘where.’ Tyler liked that.  
“Um, I think I’m going to the nurse,” he lied, resting a hand against the side of his head. “I have a headache.”  
“Oh… um, I could take you there. If- if you wanted.” Josh averted his gaze. “It doesn’t matter.”  
I thought I was bothering you, Tyler thought, growing confused. He hadn’t really expected that answer. “Do you want to?”  
Josh paused. His face grew a little red as he stood up too. “Yes,” he announced a little too quickly, a little too loudly, with a little too much enthusiasm. A few people gave him angry looks. “S- sorry,” he whispered.  
“Come on,” Tyler mumbled, giving him a small smile. “It’s okay, man.” They left the cafeteria together, and as soon as they left, Josh put his head in his hands. He was breathing heavily, and his legs were shaking.  
“I need to sit down.” He sank to the floor against the wall and rubbed his eyes. “Sorry for that. I just… I have anxiety, y’know? And there were a lot of people staring at me and-” Josh’s voice cracked, and he shook his head. “I’m sorry.”  
Before he knew it, Tyler was sitting down next to Josh, hugging him, telling him it was going to be okay, his voice hushed. Then, Josh was hugging him back, tightly, like he didn’t want to let go. They sat like this until Josh’s breathing was normal, until tears weren’t threatening to spill out of his eyes.  
“Are you okay now?” Tyler asked as they sat in the hallway, looking down in their laps. “Or do you need to go to the nurse?”  
“I thought you needed to go,” Josh answered, turning and narrowing his eyes. A small smile played at his lips, to let Tyler know that he was just joking. “Doesn’t your head hurt?”  
“It doesn’t anymore.” Tyler knew he would feel bad if he admitted to lying. “It’s okay, dude. We can just… sit here. Until lunch is over.”  
“That sounds cool.” A few minutes passed where they just sat in a comfortable silence, Josh still turning that same paper over in his fingers. Tyler watched him unfold it again, and he saw writing on it. It was neat writing, and in all capital letters, and Tyler was inclined to think that it was Josh’s handwriting. It suited him.  
“What’s the paper?” He tensed up for a moment when Tyler asked, and turned to look at him. “You don’t have to tell me.”  
“It’s for you anyways. Not that important, but whatever.” Josh refolded the paper and handed it to him, shrugging. “You can read it whenever you want.” Tyler carefully watched his face before unfolding it. It was short, and took up half the page, and it read as follows:

Tyler. I don’t think I could ever tell you what I saw in real life, so I’m writing you this note. I see you writing a lot, so I thought maybe this was the best way to tell you. Don’t freak out, okay? The future can change. It will change. I’ll stop rambling. Basically, when I touched your shoulder, I saw nothing. I just saw black. Now, here’s where I want you to not freak out. You’re probably reading this in a public place. Don’t freak out. Seeing black means you aren’t going to live much longer. It’s only happened once before, and it was with my neighbor. He had cancer, and he wanted to know what was going to happen to him. I don’t know why I’m telling you this. It’s probably just going to scare you more.  
Be careful, okay? I want you alive. You’re a cool guy.  
-Josh.

When Tyler looked up, his eyes were wet with tears. He rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he realized Josh had left, and was nowhere to be seen.


	3. Barely Saved A Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mix of fluff and angst. Mostly angst.

Josh finally showed up again after school, on the way to the buses. Josh walked home, and Tyler decided on a whim that he was going with. ‘Decided’ meaning he left his bus and ran to catch up with Josh.  
“Josh!” Tyler panted, coming up next to him. “Um… hi.”  
“Hi,” Josh replied, giving Tyler nothing but a sideways glance. “Are you coming home with me?”  
“That… that was the plan.” He chuckled. Man, was he cute. “I, uh, read your letter.”  
“Oh.” Josh stopped walking. He wanted to cry again. He didn’t want Tyler to die. Ever. “Cool.” He looked down at his shoes. “You’re not mad?”  
“Why would I be mad at you? You can’t help that I’m going to die soon.” Tyler took a deep breath. “You know, I don’t really mind. That I’m going to die.” He chuckled, but his eyes were watering, and his voice was shaking a little bit. “I’m kind of… happy.”  
“Don’t you ever say that,” Josh said with a surprising amount of firmness, glaring at Tyler, who took a step back in surprise. Josh took a step forward in return, grabbing Tyler’s shoulder. “Don’t you ever say that, Tyler. Not in front of me.”  
“Why bother telling lies then, Josh?” Now it was Josh’s turn to be surprised. He dropped his arms down to his sides. “Why would I lie to you?” A tear slipped from his eye and ran down his face, splashing to the asphalt below. Then he turned and walked. Josh followed him. “Stop following me,” Tyler groaned.  
“My bus is already long gone. Looks like I don’t have a choice.” Josh grinned that adorable grin that Tyler loved. It looked like a cat trying to smile, but it worked, and it was cute. It was also cute how his eyes sparkled when he smiled, and how his nose scrunched up. It made Tyler smile too. He was snapped out of his trance when Josh added, “So I’m coming with.” Then, he lifted his arm and rested it on Tyler’s shoulder. His vision went black and his eyes got wide. An image flashed in front of him. It was of both Tyler and Josh, sitting on playground equipment, watching the sky and talking, speaking words that Josh couldn’t hear. They seemed at ease, not worried about anything at all. Josh’s vision faded back in and he was sitting on the ground, Tyler leaning over him.  
“Are you okay? You stopped moving and then you… fell over.” Tyler held out his hand, but Josh was hesitant to take it. He didn’t want to touch Tyler, for fear of seeing something again. “Oh. Yeah.” Tyler dropped his hand. “Right.”  
“I… I saw something,” Josh murmured as he climbed to his feet, his eyes wide. “I saw something, Tyler!” He smiled, wider than before, and threw his arms around his friend. Tyler smiled and hugged Josh back, but he didn’t say anything. “Aren’t you happy?”  
“I mean… Kinda.” Tyler let go of Josh and looked down at the ground, kicking at a rock. “It’s- complicated.” He gave Josh a look and asked, “You want to go to the park?”  
“That’s where the vision was leading, after all.” Josh turned to Tyler, still smiling. “Race me?” Then he took off. Tyler groaned frustratedly.  
“I’m not fast!” he yelled, but he still smiled and ran after Josh. The other boy was much faster, and Josh was already sitting on the playground when Tyler got there. “You suck.”  
“Whatever.” Josh fell onto his back, his legs swinging off the edge of the platform he was lying on. He rested his head on his arms and watched Tyler as he sat down, laughing. Tyler smiled but didn’t laugh, and his eyes were still kind of sad. Josh’s smile faded quickly. “What’s wrong?”  
“I don’t know,” Tyler murmured, gazing down at Josh as they sat next to each other. “I don’t know.” It seemed like he wanted to say something else, but nothing was coming out of his mouth. Whenever he tried to speak, all that came out was ‘I don’t know.’  
Tyler glanced down and saw Josh wriggling closer to him. He raised his eyebrows in surprise as Josh grinned and lay his head down on Tyler’s lap.  
“Still sad?” he inquired, rubbing his head against Tyler’s leg. Tyler giggled.  
“You really are a cat,” Tyler mused, reaching up and petting Josh’s hair without even thinking about it.  
“I’m a cat? What? No way, man. I’m a lion.”  
“Tiger?”  
“Cool.” Josh sat up and turned around, leaning against the playground. “Josh Tiger Dun. That sounds sick.” He looked up at the sky, seeing clouds rolling in. He hadn’t seen that in his vision. He frowned slightly, leaned forward, and touched Tyler’s arm, just to see if anything had changed.  
It was dark again.  
“J- Josh? What’s wrong?” Tyler asked as soon as Josh moved away, the color draining from his face. “Josh? Josh!”  
“Tyler- It’s dark again.”  
“What?” Tyler looked confused for a few moments; then it dawned on him. “Oh.” He scooted closer to Josh and looked around worriedly. “We’ll stay right here, okay? It’s gonna be okay.”  
“No, we have to get somewhere else. Right now.” Josh and Tyler slowly stood up and went to leave, but it had started to rain, and everything was wet. “Be extra careful, okay? I’ll- um, hold your hand if you need help.”  
“I’ll be fine. Thank you.” Tyler’s voice was so cute. Josh nodded and stood back as Tyler began to climb down. He got down safely, and Josh followed. They ventured to the street, and they carefully looked both ways. “I’ll show you the way to my house, so you can come over whenever,” Tyler said as they waited for the traffic to die down. As soon as it did, they ran. They were almost all the way across when Tyler stepped on his foot wrong and fell to the ground. Josh rushed over to him, his heart pounding.  
“Come on, Tyler!” he yelled. He turned his head and saw pairs of headlights coming from both directions, going really fast. Josh pulled on Tyler’s arm and he scrambled to stand, but the car was getting closer, and Josh could hear the whooshing noises coming from it. “Tyler!” he cried, getting behind his friend, since pulling him wasn’t going to work. Josh knew he was endangering himself by doing this; even if he rescued Tyler, he could easily get hit. He pushed Tyler, who was yelling about how his foot hurt too much. Forget it, Josh thought, and he gave Tyler one last push, finally getting him out of the way. Josh jumped out of the way of the car and hit the grass, narrowly missing the sidewalk. He was shaking so bad that he couldn’t even sit up, and his back hurt from where he’d hit the grass, but he’d saved a live. Barely.  
“Josh?” Tyler whispered, coming up next to his friend. It took Josh a moment to realize he was crying. Sobbing, even. “Josh… it’s okay. I’m alive.” Tyler reached down and helped his friend sit up. “Does anything hurt?”  
“N-no,” Josh gasped, but he didn’t think Tyler believed him, considering how hard he was crying. “You almost died, Tyler… I almost lost you… I almost lost my only friend!”  
“I’m here. I’m here. It’s okay.” Tyler helped Josh to his feet and put an arm around him. “I’ll take you to my house, okay? I won’t tell them what happened.”  
Josh sniffed and wiped his face, which was wet from rain and tears. “Okay,” he sighed. “I can’t believe you survived that.”  
“Well, we don’t know how much longer I’m going to live.”


	4. Tyler's House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh goes to Tyler's house and discuss things.

The two boys walked up the driveway to Tyler’s house in the now-pouring rain, shivering, Tyler limping because of his ankle. Josh looked around and saw no cars in Tyler’s driveway.  
“Do your parents park in the garage?” he asked, pushing his soaking wet hair out of his eyes. Tyler shook his head.  
“No, they work late,” he mumbled. “Just my brothers and sister are home, and usually me.” He pulled the door open and walked in, pulling Josh in behind him. He shut and locked the door, and two boys ran up to them.  
“Who’s that?” one of them asked, pointing at Josh, who looked down at the ground.  
“My friend.”  
“You have friends?” The other brother laughed, and Tyler looked vaguely angry. Josh felt a flicker of anger at Tyler; why wasn’t he standing up to his brothers?  
“Yes, he does have friends,” Josh snarled. “Lots of them. I happen to be one of them. My name’s Josh, and you two need to get out of our way.” Tyler turned his head and looked at his friend in shock as the two brothers walked away quickly, talking in hushed tones.  
“I don’t have many friends,” Tyler mumbled before pulling Josh away into what he assumed to be Tyler’s room. “You’re my only friend.”  
“Whatever,” Josh said in reply. “I just wanted to help.”  
“It’s okay. Thank you for that.” Josh had to look away, a big, stupid grin spreading on his face. Josh had never really liked someone this way, and it was strange, but he liked it.  
Tyler led him into his room and shut the door, pulling off his jacket and tossed aside. “Sit wherever you want,” he said as he kicked off his shoes.  
“Okay.” Josh took a seat in a spinny chair sitting in front of a desk piled high with school things. “Is your ankle okay?”  
“Yeah.” Tyler took a seat on his bed, leaning back against the wall, with a pillow against his back so it wouldn’t hurt. “I think I just twisted it. Are you okay, though?”  
“I’m fine, I think.” Josh prodded at his neck, head, arms, and legs. “Just a couple bruises from when I fell, probably.” He grinned.  
“How are you able to be so lighthearted about this?” Josh’s smile faded quickly at Tyler’s words. “I’m scared, Josh.”  
“I just- I guess I laugh it off because I don’t really… really want to know what’s… what’s going to happen when I- when I-” Josh chuckled, rubbing his eyes. “I’m doing it again.” His voice sounded choked, like he was forcing it. “Sorry.”  
“I guess I get it,” Tyler said, watching Josh with careful, gentle eyes. “Don’t be sorry about it. It’s just your way of… coping.”  
“I just don’t want you to go.” Josh’s voice raised into that higher register that seemed to happen when he was near crying. Whiny, almost. “I- I like you a lot, Tyler. Like, you know… that kind of like.” A few tears spilled from his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. Tyler stared down at his hands, seeming like he didn’t hear what Josh had said. “Tyler?”  
The longer the silence grew, the faster Josh’s heart beated, the more tears that slipped down his face. It went almost a full minute until Tyler finally looked up. His eyes were shining with tears as well, and he was biting his lip, as if trying not to say something. Finally, he spoke.  
“I like you too, Josh,” he whispered, “and I don’t want to leave you.” He put his head in his hands, starting to actually cry, louder than before. Josh walked over and sat down next to Tyler, patting him on the back.  
“It’s okay,” he murmured as Tyler turned and fell into him, his cheek against Josh’s side. “I’m going to make sure you stay alive as long as I can. Or, we could… y’know, go out together.”  
“No,” Tyler began slowly, moving away so he could look at Josh’s face. “I want to live as long as I can do it with you, Josh.”  
“I’m home!” A voice came from outside the door, and Tyler’s eyes grew wide. He wiped his face and fixed his hair, and Josh did the same.  
“You have to leave. Right now, Josh. Out the window.”  
“W- what?”  
“Trust me. It’s not a far fall. Please, you have to hurry.” Tyler leaned forward and gave Josh a kiss on the nose, which almost gave Josh a heart attack. “Go!”  
“Bye, Tyler! See you in class, okay?”  
“Okay!” Tyler glanced at the door. Footsteps were coming up the hallway. “Josh!” Josh yanked open the window and jumped, landing on his feet and bending his knees so he wouldn’t get hurt. He watched as Tyler slammed the window shut just behind him before sinking to the ground, trying to collect all of what had happened in his jumbled brain. The car incident felt like it had happened days ago, and the confessions a few hours before.  
“Tyler likes me,” he said slowly, rising to his feet. “Tyler likes me. Tyler likes me!” He laughed until his eyes were full of tears again. “Tyler likes me!” He shouted to the sky and jumped around, waving at cars and smiling at pedestrians. He didn’t want to go home. He wanted to spend his life outside, with Tyler, just sitting under the open sky and laughing for hours on end. Eating at shitty restaurants with okay food and leaving ten bucks on the table, only to be walking off again.  
And then his phone rang. All the happiness drained away as he lifted it to see who it was. Sure enough, it was his mom. He answered it and put the phone to his ear.  
“He-”  
“Joshua William Dun, what do you think you’re doing?! Where are you?”  
“I was at-”  
“I don’t give a flying fuck where you were at! Come home, now!” The call ended abruptly and Josh slid his phone away, suddenly unable to breathe, to focus on anything but how much trouble he was in. You’re fucked, Josh. So, so, so fucked.  
However… He turned back towards Tyler’s house. He ran to the window and saw Tyler sitting in front of it, staring out into the sky. He looked basically everywhere but the ground, and Josh looked around to see any way to get Tyler’s attention. There was a pretty tall tree nearby, and Josh had always been good at climbing. In a matter of minutes, he was high up on the tree, yelling Tyler’s name.  
The window slid open and Tyler leaned out, squinting at Josh. “Josh? You haven’t left?”  
“No, my mom just called. I should be home.”  
“Go home!” Tyler glanced at the door. “Please. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”  
“I’m already in trouble, Tyler. Can I- can I sleep over? I’ll sleep on the floor. Please. I can call my parents and tell them where I am.”  
“Yeah, but good luck getting through the house without getting noticed.”  
“I’ll just-” Josh spotted a thick branch jutting out just over Tyler’s window, close to the roof. “Hold on.” He began crawling across it, not daring enough to stand up. He got close to the end of it and Tyler reached out his hand. Josh grabbed it and carefully leaned down, putting one foot on the windowsill. He pushed off the branch and sat on the sill, gripping onto it tightly.  
“That was terrifying,” Tyler whispered. “Don’t do stuff like that, Josh.”  
“Sorry, Ty.”  
“Ty?”  
“It’s my new nickname for you.” Josh jumped into the room and took a seat in the spinny chair, sighing. “I don’t want to go home.”  
“You don’t have to. You’re here.” Tyler grinned. “Now let’s just hope that no one notices.”


	5. Beaten And Bruised

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuff happens. (I'm just getting too lazy to write chapter summaries and I apologize)

The next morning was almost… Awkward. They walked to school in an awkward silence, they awkwardly said goodbye when they separated for their classes, and they awkwardly sat down for lunch. Tyler was acting exactly like before he’d become friends with Josh; he was sitting with his shoulders hunched over slightly, his legs crossed tightly, and his hands resting in his lap. He stared at nothing but his hands and didn’t meet Josh’s unwavering gaze.  
“Tyler?” Josh asked finally, which made him look up. All the awkwardness flooded away as Tyler smiled.  
“Hi, Josh,” he chuckled, though his smile didn’t seem genuine. It looked like he was worrying about something, and Josh decided he was going to see what it was.  
“Something bothering you?” Josh moved over to sit by Tyler, glancing around to make sure no one was giving them weird looks. “You can tell me.”  
“Kinda,” Tyler murmured, circling a pattern on the table. “I’m just… really worried about my future, you know? Things have gotten really strange since that first day. Where you saw that I had no future. I’ve usually been a pretty fortunate person, and…” He took a deep breath and dug the heels of his hands into his eyes for a few seconds. “I’m really scared. I’ve almost gotten hit by a car, and I almost got caught with someone over at my house, and… I don’t know what’s next. It’s almost like I always want you… here with me, so you can save me if something happens. You- you know?”  
“Yeah, I know. I feel like I need to be here with you. You can protect yourself though, can’t you?” Tyler laughed a little bit at that.  
“No I can’t. I’m about as strong as a twig. Plus, I don’t mind having… someone around to protect me. Oh yeah,” he added, “can you see my future again?”  
“That’s such a weird way to say it.” Josh grinned. “But sure.” He put his hand up and touched Tyler’s shoulder, and his vision faded out. Nothing faded back in. He removed his hand, and Tyler watched his face fall. “Nothing.”  
“Oh.” Tyler stared down at his hands again, tears brimming his eyes again. Man, Tyler had been crying a lot lately. “Keep me safe, Josh.” He turned and hugged his friend (probably something more) tightly.  
“Of course,” Josh whispered, hugging Tyler back. They sat like that for a few minutes, and for those few minutes, the stares they got didn’t matter. Josh vaguely felt Tyler’s shoulders shaking, and realized he was probably crying again. Josh had tears in his eyes too.  
Lunch ended and they went their separate ways. Josh left quickly and quietly, tilting his head down, probably so no one saw him fighting back tears. Tyler wiped his eyes and went to his class, gripping his notebook tightly in hand. When he got to class, he flipped it open to the most recent page. It was another jumbled page, full of his thoughts, the ones that couldn’t just stay in his head. Most of them were about Josh, or they were lyrics, or poems. In big, messy text, in the very center of the page, read ‘I DON’T WANT TO DIE.’ Tyler had written that just after Josh left the house, out the window, the day before. Then he’d closed the book and left it on the desk before going to the window and waiting. He knew Josh wouldn’t leave, and when Josh came back, Tyler had hoped that he would see the notebook and read it. He didn’t.  
Tyler began drawing on the next page after staring at the mess of thoughts. He didn’t know what he was drawing, and it started with a vertical line. Then, a horizontal one sticking out from the vertical. On the end of that horizontal line, he drew a diagonal line, going up from left to right. He drew a circle around the symbol and stared at it, wondering why he even drew something like that in the first place. He shut the notebook and put his head down. Half of him was excited to see Josh again, but the other half was… scared. For his life.  
Meanwhile, Josh stared at his desk in his class, sitting in the back for the first time in a while. He drummed his fingers impatiently on his desk, watching the clock hands inch slowly across the face. He wanted to leave, he wanted the day to be over, and most of all, he wanted to go see Tyler. He saw the time get closer and closer to leaving, and as the clock hands moved, he grew more anxious.  
As soon as the bell rang, Josh was out of his seat, out of the room, running down the hallway. He jumped down the stairs and saw Tyler waiting by the door. Josh slowed down and Tyler turned to him and waved-  
Suddenly, Tyler was punched in the face. Josh’s heart stopped beating, and the world went in slow motion around him. His stomach did a flip and his heart was set on fire with rage as he tore his way down the hallway. The guy laughed as Tyler fell to the the ground, and Josh couldn’t tell if he was still conscious. The guy kicked him and prepared to do something else, but Josh had better plans.  
“Don’t hit my fucking friend!” he screamed, and he punched the guy right back, knocking him over. Josh felt very thankful for being strong at that moment. While the stranger tried to compose himself, Josh grabbed Tyler and pulled him to his feet, half-carrying him out of the school and collapsing behind some bushes, up against the wall.  
“What happened?” Tyler asked, rubbing his cheek where he’d been hit. “Josh, are you okay?”  
“Yeah, I’m fine. That looks bad, Tyler.” A bruise was already beginning to surface, a pale purple spot on Tyler’s cheek that was certainly going to get worse. Josh took a deep breath, rage still boiling just under the surface of his calm face. “Some random dude just came up to you and punched you.”  
“I know him.” Tyler gazed down at the ground. “He tried to take my notebook once, and I hit him, and he’s hated me ever since. I think he has… anger issues or something.”  
“That’s still so uncalled for. We need to get something on this,” Josh decided. “And he kicked you. Did that hurt too?”  
“Not nearly as much. Let’s just go.” Josh and Tyler crawled out of the bushes, and Josh was relieved that no one saw them. He couldn’t imagine how much teasing would be done if two boys crawled out of the bushes together, one red-faced with messy hair, and one with a bruise on his cheek. Just great.  
Josh casually reached up his hand and put it on Tyler’s shoulder, to maybe see what his future looked like. Surely it had to be light again. Something had to be there.  
But no, it was quite the opposite. It was, if anything, darker than before, and Josh had no idea why.


	6. Runaways

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stuff is actually gonna pick up soon. Wow.

“Josh, you haven’t talked to me all the way here. What’s wrong?” Tyler and Josh sat quietly on the playground that they’d been at a few days before, on top of the jungle gym this time. Josh was sitting hunched over, his legs swinging below him.  
“It’s still dark,” he whispered, barely loud enough for Tyler to hear. Josh looked up at Tyler, and the look in his eyes was… terrified, to say the least. “It’s still dark, Tyler.”  
Tyler’s heart felt like it had fallen through his body and crashed to the floor at that moment. “I’m still going to die?”  
“Unless we change something. And I’m out of ideas. I don’t know what to do to prevent it. Before, I got like- like instincts, to change this thing, or go this way. This time… I don’t know what to do. I’m- I’m out of ideas.”  
“Oh, Josh,” Tyler choked out. “Oh, Josh, oh Josh.” He put his head in his hands, barely balancing on the jungle gym.  
“I know. Let’s just not take any risks, okay?”  
“What if I die without even getting to say goodbye to you, Josh? What am I gonna do then?” Both of them knew they didn’t want to talk about it, and neither of them knew what to say.  
“Let’s run away,” they both said at the same time, in the exact same tone of voice. They looked up at each other, eyes wide, mouths slightly agape. Then they both burst into laughter. Tyler leaned back and yelped as he lost his balance. He fell back and Josh gasped, lunging forward and grabbing Tyler’s hand with lighting fast reflexes. He realized he’d been holding his breath, and let it out.  
“I almost hit my head,” Tyler gasped as Josh pulled him back up. “Do you really think that could’ve killed me?”  
“I don’t know, maybe.” Josh realized his vision hadn’t faded when he grabbed Tyler’s hand. “It didn’t go black, but I didn’t see anything, Tyler.”  
“What do you mean?” Tyler watched Josh, his eyes still wide and slightly scared. “Is that good?”  
“I don’t know, I- when I grabbed your hand, my vision didn’t go black. But I didn’t see the future either. I saw right now.”  
“Maybe that means- maybe you saved my life.” Tyler smiled. “Thanks.” Normally Josh would’ve smiled and laughed, but he was petrified. It couldn’t have been that simple.  
“It can’t be that simple!” he yelled without warning, scaring Tyler. Josh never yelled. “Don’t be so nonchalant about it!”  
“Josh, please, calm down-”  
“I can’t, Tyler. I can’t not know what’s going on with my own power!” Josh jumped off the jungle gym and began to walk away. He stopped for a second, and turned to face Tyler. His face had gone from angry to just defeated and confused. “I’m sorry. I just need to figure a few things out. You can come with me if you want, but I just- I need time.”  
“Okay,” Tyler answered, and he climbed down the equipment and followed Josh, a safe distance away. “But I still think that you saved my life, and you were actually seeing a vision of you doing that. That’s what I think, anyway.”  
“I think you’re right. But I’m still scared.”  
“Well, why don’t you see my future now?” Josh paused and then nodded, putting his hand on Tyler’s arm. It faded to black, and stayed like that for a few seconds. He was about to remove his hand when he saw a vision slowly fade in, fuzzy and hard to see. It was of them sitting alone in a forest, with Tyler’s backpack sitting by them. Josh himself was shaking like static, fading in and out of focus, and for a second, he wasn’t even there. He jerked his hand back when the edges of the vision began to grow red, showing he’d been watching for too long.  
“You know, your eyes get red when you see things,” Tyler observed. “Like, your pupils stay the same, but… your irises get red.” He shook his head, dismissing the subject. “What did you see?”  
“You and me, sitting in a forest… and we were just sitting there, and your backpack was there, and it looked really full. But I was… fading in and out I guess? For a few seconds I wasn’t even there.”  
“Maybe there’s… two possible things that could happen? Like, you could be there, but you might not be?”  
“Yeah. I think that’s it. Overall, though… it means we’re going to end up running away from home.” Josh and Tyler grinned at each other. “I’m kind of excited, actually.”  
“Me too,” Tyler answered, hiding just how scared he actually was.


	7. Runaways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler and Josh take their things and run away from home. Things don't go as planned.

“You ready?” Josh asked Tyler, a smile wide on his face. “I’m so excited. Finally, we don’t have to deal with school, or parents, or anything anymore. And I can keep you safe.”  
“Am I ready? I’m terrified, but we can say I’m ready,” Tyler answered. “Where exactly are we… going? And… why?”  
“Where? Who knows. Who cares. And why? So I can keep my best friend safe.” Josh paused, and then appeared to read Tyler’s mind. “Or...whatever you are now.”  
“Romantic interest,” Tyler supplied. A shy smile grew on Josh’s face, and he blushed.  
“Yeah, let’s call it that,” he giggled. Tyler grinned and readjusted his backpack. “Ready to go, man?”  
“Of course.” They started walking. They didn’t have a set destination in mind, and Josh decided that was the point of it. They could decide what they wanted to do. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, stared at it for a few seconds, and then turned and chucked it into the road, where a car hit it and smashed it. “What was that for?” Tyler asked, not even surprised. Just curious.  
“I don’t want it anymore. My mom had my number, and I don’t know how many times she would’ve called me if I ran away without telling her. Plus, I just… I just didn’t want it.”  
“Oh… Okay. That’s cool.” Tyler didn’t have a cellphone, or anything that he wanted to throw out, really. He kept what he had and he liked it. “Can you see my future?”  
“Um, yeah.” Josh touched Tyler’s arm and they stopped walking so he could see. It faded in to the same image from before, and nothing was different except for the fact that- “No.” Josh let go of Tyler and took a few steps back, suddenly feeling very shaky. “No,” he whispered.  
“Is it black? What did you see? Did we do something wrong, Josh?” Tyler watched his friend sit down hard, his face going pale, his hands shaking. Tyler kneeled down beside his friend and took his shoulders. “Tell me what happened.”  
“It’s- it’s the same vision as before,” Josh breathed. “It’s the same, right? But… I’m not there. I’m not in the vision anymore. We did something wrong.” Josh shook his head, running a hand through his hair. “Stay close to me, okay? I don’t want to lose you.”  
“You say it so casually,” Tyler murmured, smiling and pulling Josh to his feet. He didn’t meet Josh’s gaze, however, choosing to stare at the ground instead.  
They walked in silence, a slight fear blanketing their thoughts. Josh occasionally glanced at Tyler, and Tyler sometimes looked over at Josh, but they always looked away if the other one saw. Tyler found himself staring at Josh’s hand, and after another glance over at him, he reached over and grabbed Josh’s hand. Josh looked over at him in surprise before grinning and squeezing Tyler’s hand back. Tyler felt his face grow warm, and he knew he was blushing.  
“You know, we could still go home,” Josh mused as they walked. He still knew where they were, and he knew how to get back to his house from there.  
“Not like anyone’s gonna miss us. I don’t think my siblings will care that I’m gone.”  
“Someone’s gonna miss you, Tyler. I guarantee it.”  
“Yeah, like that guy that punched me in the face?” Tyler felt the bruise on his face, which was only just beginning to fade. “He’ll miss being able to beat me up.”  
“Shut up, Tyler,” Josh said suddenly, stopping and watching as Tyler looked over his shoulder. “Shut up. Stop talking like nobody liked you. Stop it.”  
“I’m- I’m only telling the… the truth,” Tyler responded as he turned around, his face suddenly getting pale with fear. “Nobody wants me around. You probably only talked back to me that day because-”  
“Don’t say it.”  
“You-”  
“Tyler-”  
“Felt bad for me.” Josh saw tears in his best friend’s eyes, and for some reason, it made him angrier. It made Josh furious to see how true Tyler thought this whole thing was. It sparked rage, to see that Tyler really thought that no one loved him.  
“Fine, believe what you want,” Josh snarled, suddenly hostile. “I don’t think anyone hates you unless they have a reason to, which no one does. But it doesn’t matter. I don’t care.” He didn’t know what he was saying until it was said, and then, Tyler was in tears. “Tyler-”  
“I have to go,” Tyler sniffed, rubbing his eyes and turning to leave. Josh called his name another time, but Tyler was running down the road. Josh ran after him, calling for him, but Tyler ran even faster, faster than Josh had ever seen him go.  
“Tyler! Tyler! Come back, please! Come back…” Josh slowed and stopped, tears brimming his eyes. “I love you.”  
I love you, Tyler thought as he glanced back to look at Josh, who was standing still, staring at the ground. I’m sorry.


	8. Alone(?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of suffering. Basically. I'm sure you can figure things out.

Josh was alone. Well and truly alone. He had no idea where he was, no idea how to get anywhere from where he was, and, worst of all, he didn’t know where Tyler had gone. Josh didn’t think he could deal with being alone for very long, and thinking of Tyler being alone and without him made him feel like crying, but he’d seen Tyler’s future, and he knew his friend was going to be okay. Without him. Maybe that’s how it had to be.  
Maybe that’s how it is, Josh thought, sitting down on the curb of the road. Maybe Tyler is better off as long as I’m not there. He put his head in his hands and took a shaky breath, realizing just how much wrong he’d done. Tyler already wasn’t that confident of a person, and Josh was probably just breaking what little confidence his ‘romantic interest’- or whatever he even was now- had.  
Josh finally stood up, knowing what he had to do. He had to find Tyler and apologize.  
Meanwhile, Tyler walked alone down the road, lingering tears in his eyes. He blinked them back and looked over his shoulder, half-hoping that Josh was running after him, screaming his name. Of course Josh wouldn’t follow me this far, he thought bitterly, sitting down on the grass just off the road. No one cares that much. No one should care that much. I should just throw myself in front of a car and get it over with. He watched the cars roar by him, blowing his hair slightly, and he decided maybe it wouldn’t be all that hard to just end it. Josh wouldn’t miss him.  
Tyler found himself on his feet, pulling his backpack off and setting it on the ground beside him. He felt like he wasn’t even in control of his own body, like he was being possessed, and suddenly, he was running at full speed into the road.  
Josh’s head began to hurt immensely and he stumbled to the ground, clutching his face, gasping in pain. He closed his eyes and when he opened them, he wasn’t where he had been before. He was in the middle of the road, watching Tyler run into the mess of cars.  
“Tyler!” Josh screamed, and Tyler turned to look at him, his eyes growing wide, a single tear slipping from his eye. Josh sprinted forward and grabbed his friend’s hand, pulling him out of the way of a car that didn’t even try to stop for them. Josh waited for a break in the road, his heart pounding, but at the same time not really beating at all. When there was a short time where no cars were coming, Josh and Tyler ran, shoes pounding against the road. Tyler shut his eyes as they ran across, and when he opened them again, Josh was gone, like he’d never even been there.  
“Josh?” he whispered, picking up his backpack. “Where’d you go?”  
“I’m right here, Tyler,” Josh murmured, opening his eyes too. He was back in what he felt to be his body, and the headache was gone. His hands were shaking, his heart pounding, and he was certain that he was panicking, but he knew he had just saved Tyler’s life. He looked for anything that might point him in the right direction, and then realized the ‘thing’ that had saved Tyler knew where he was. Josh took off running towards where his instincts pointed him, wiping tears from his eyes again and again. His legs were shaking and he felt like he might pass out, but nothing was more important than finding his best friend.  
“Josh?” Tyler looked over and saw a form, running as fast as it could, with dark brown hair, a t-shirt, and Tyler’s favorite leather jeans. “Josh! Josh, it’s you!” Tyler turned and ran for his best friend. “I thought I just saw you!”  
“You did!” Josh called in reply, taking the extra leap and throwing his arms around his best friend. “You did, Tyler! It’s a new power, or, something.” He laughed, crying happily, and held onto Tyler like his own life depended on it. Tyler held on even tighter, if that was possible. “I saved your life without even being here.”  
“That was amazing. I’m so sorry, Josh. I’m sorry that I ran away.” Tyler’s tears fell into Josh’s shoulder as they sat down, still hugging tightly.  
“No, it was my fault. I was really mean,” Josh admitted in reply, finally letting go. “I know you think no one loves you, but…” His heart skipped a beat. Was he really saying it? “I love you, Tyler.”  
“I love you too, Josh.” Tyler leaned forward and pressed his lips to Josh’s, and Josh returned the kiss, even if it only lasted a few seconds. Then they hugged again, and sat like that for what felt like forever.  
“Your vision is still dark, by the way,” Josh mumbled into Tyler’s ear. Tyler’s breath caught in his throat. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”  
So, Tyler thought as he held Josh close to him. At least I’ll die with my best friend close to me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not too keen on the ending to this chapter, but I'm gonna keep it in because it's cliche and I'm gonna laugh at it in a few years. thanks for reading this far, by the way. it really means a lot.


	9. Realization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some cute fluff happens. The suffer's gonna pick up soon, don't worry.

Tyler didn’t bother trying to change anything about his, quite literally, dark future. At this point, he didn’t really care any more, so long as he died beside Josh. They had seemingly made a nonverbal agreement that they were more than friends, and probably even more than just ‘romantic interests.’ They’d wake up and smile at each other, hold hands as they walked down the road, still unsure of where to go. They’d share food when they ate and even shared clothes; Tyler caught Josh wearing his leather pants, and Josh saw Tyler wearing his jacket. It was a good life.  
“You know I’m going to die,” Tyler randomly said a few days after Josh had discovered his new power, or whatever it so happened to be. Josh didn’t seem to be able to do it on his own, and it hadn’t happened since what they had called the ‘highway incident.’ Tyler didn’t like to talk about it, so they simply didn’t talk about it. Josh liked it when Tyler was comfortable, after all.  
“So what?” Josh murmured, staring at his best friend as they lay on their backs in a field, watching the stars. Or, rather, watching each other. “You’re with me, and you will be until the very end.” Josh shifted and put his head on Tyler’s stomach, smiling up at him. Tyler rolled his eyes and took Josh’s hand in his own.  
“I don’t want this to end,” Tyler murmured, his expression growing sadder and more serious. “I don’t want to leave.” He sniffed and rubbed at his eyes, watching the stars still.  
“I’ll protect you, Tyler. Here, let me see your vision.” Josh moved up to lie next to Tyler, not letting go of his hand and touching his shoulder with his free hand. His vision faded to black, but then faded back to the scene they were looking at right now for a few seconds, afterwards fading black again. Josh moved away and looked at the sky, obviously confused.  
“What did it look like?”  
“It just faded back into what’s going on right now for a few seconds. I don’t know why it’s like that. It’s never done that before.”  
“It’s fine.” Tyler shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair, which had grown a bit longer since they left, but still held its shape. “I don’t care anymore.”  
“You just said you didn’t want to die,” Josh remarked, suddenly letting go of Tyler’s hand and sitting up. “You’re really confusing sometimes, Tyler.”  
“I know. I’m sorry. I just… I don’t know anymore, okay? I don’t know what I want to happen. My mind’s all screwed up, and half the time I don’t know what I’m thinking, and the other half the time, I don’t want to think anymore. I’m so messed up, Josh.” Tyler put his hands over his eyes. “I’m a disgrace. Don’t look at me.”  
“Why can’t I look at you? You, Tyler Joseph, are my favorite thing to look at.” Josh saw Tyler’s face turn light red from under his hands, and Josh giggled. He loved making Tyler all flustered.  
“I hate you so much,” Tyler mumbled as he removed his hands, but he had a wide smile on his face. He suddenly jumped up and lunged at Josh, tickling him and kissing him at the same time. Tyler tried to kiss josh back, but he was laughing and squirming too much. Josh released him and they sat there, chuckling and staring at each other. “Kiss me again,” Tyler said suddenly, his eyes growing… Josh couldn’t read the expression.  
“Okay,” Josh said, and he leaned forward and did it again. Tyler grabbed Josh and pulled him in close and kissed all over his face before letting go. Josh wiped his face while Tyler grinned triumphantly.  
“You’re a good kisser, you know that?” he observed. “You have good lips, Josh.”  
“You’re weird,” Josh replied, immediately adding, “the good kind of weird.”  
“No, I’m both kinds of weird. But… It’s not as big as a problem as it used to be.” Tyler paused, looking sad again as he flopped back down on the grass. He craned his neck to look over at Josh, his eyes scared. “C- can you see my future again? Just in case?”  
“I just did, but I don’t see why not.” Josh touched Tyler’s arm again; this time it went dark and stayed dark. “Oh.” Realization dawned on Josh. “Tyler, you have to promise me- promise me not to leave tonight, okay?”  
“Josh, are you okay?” Tyler inquired, sitting back up and moving a bit away from his friend. “You’re being… weird.” He stood up slowly, and Josh saw in his eyes that Tyler was scared. “I’m gonna go… take a walk, okay?”  
“No, Tyler. You’re not leaving.” It was obvious that Josh had figured something out, and Tyler didn’t like it. It felt like he knew something that Josh didn’t.  
“Okay, okay.” Tyler slowly sat down again, trying to keep his hands from shaking. “What did you figure out?”  
Josh said nothing. It felt like he couldn’t even speak at all. He just knew that he had to keep Tyler from committing suicide.


	10. Save A Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All good things come to an end. (This isn't the end of the fic, don't worry.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning for self-harm and attempted suicide! don't read if you're easily triggered!

Josh woke up not remembering falling asleep, with a hazy mind and still-tired eyes. Josh opened his eyes and saw the sun peeking over the horizon, and he realized just how messed up his sleep schedule had become since running away. It kind of made him laugh.  
“Tyler?” he whispered, turning his head to where Tyler was- or, had been. “Tyler!” Josh looked around, his friend nowhere to be seen. His heart started to pound as he stood up, and he clenched his hands into fists. “Where are you?” His breathe caught in his throat as he heard a sudden wail; a sudden shout that sounded just like Tyler. Another one rang out as who was calling out registered in Josh’s mind; he listened for the direction of the sound, and when he heard it, he took off, forgetting both their backpacks at the spot. He heard the screaming ring out once more, and Josh ran even faster, tears welling up in his eyes.  
“Tyler!” Josh shouted out, seeing his best friend’s form hunched over against a tree. He slowed down when he saw a knife lying on the ground next to Tyler, and blood soaking into the grass. Josh cursed under his breath- something he largely avoided doing unless he had to- and jogged the rest of the distance to his friend. What he saw made his heart stop beating and his legs give out. Josh lifted Tyler’s head and saw his friend gazing at him with tired, dark, tear-filled eyes. Blood soaked his left arm, and Josh felt his stomach turn over at seeing a few drops of blood fall to the ground, but he needed to help his best friend. He pulled his shirt over his head and pressed it against Tyler’s left wrist, trying not to sob. He hated seeing Tyler anything like this, and he wasn’t about to give up on his friend.  
“I’m sorry, Josh,” Tyler said in a scratchy voice as Josh more formally tied his shirt around Tyler’s multiple cuts. “I didn’t want you to know. I didn’t want anyone to know.” He stared at the ground as Josh put pressure on the wounds, which were somewhat shallow but very long. “You should’ve let me bleed out in peace.”  
Josh reached over and grabbed the bloodstained knife that lie on the grass, looking it over. “Where’d you get this?” he asked, looking his friend straight in the eye.  
“I put it in my backpack the day before we left. Just in case I ever needed it.” He looked down at the ground, and then at his arm, the shirt tied around it already beginning to stain. “Turns out I did need it.”  
“See it? See the knife, Tyler?” Josh turned and chucked it as far as he could, watching the blade stick deep into a tree. “It’s gone now. Forget about it. You can’t use it anymore.”  
“I did this so I’d only have to use it once. I was planning on dying today, Josh. Oh, by the way, you’re shirtless.”  
“No, I’m not,” Josh answered, sarcasm dragging his voice down. He gave Tyler a grin with mischievous eyes, and Tyler smiled back, but it was kind of a sad smile. Josh reached down to pull his friend up, only to catch him when he almost fell forward.  
“Sorry,” Tyler murmured as Josh steadied him. “Let’s just go back.” Josh half-carried tyler as they walked out of the thicket of trees Tyler had run to, and Josh put his hand on Tyler’s arm. It seemed like a harmless gesture, but it was, of course, to see Tyler’s future. It faded into the current scene, just as Josh expected, and he removed his hand, satisfied.  
“I guess I’ll explain what I figured out, since we have time,” he said as they walked. “So, when I put my hand on your arm a few times back, it kind of- kind of showed the current scene. Like, it showed what we were doing, and, um, it was weird. I didn’t get it. And after, when I wasn’t- when you were like, sad or something, I’d touch your arm and it’d get black. And I figured out that- um, when it went into what we were currently doing, I realized that… I was saving your life. Just by being there.” Josh shrugged, looking down at the ground. “I dunno. It’s confusing.”  
“No, I think I get it,” Tyler answered slowly. “Because you’re right. You always seemed to notice when I wasn’t doing well, when I wasn’t thinking good things. And it was always after you read a vision, too.”  
“So I was saving your life at those times. And I’m doing it now.” Josh smiled, tears welling in his eyes. Tears from what emotion he was feeling, he had no idea.  
“Yeah, I guess.” Tyler sniffed and looked up at Josh with puppy-like eyes and pulled him into a hug. “Don’t cry, man.  
“I’m not crying. I just think it’s amazing to know that I’m actually helping you.”  
“Well, all things come to an end someday.”


	11. How Strange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More accidents happen. Mostly to Tyler

Josh found himself unable to sleep that night; instead, he was leaning against Tyler’s backpack, watching his friend sleep. He was so scared about everything since he’d seen Tyler’s hunched over form in that thicket of trees, with blood dripping from his arm. Everytime he thought of it, he felt sick and frightened, and he was thinking all too much now. He felt like he was going to throw up.  
“Josh, Tyler murmured, scaring his friend out of his thoughts. “You’re still awake.” It was said as more of a statement, rather than a question.  
“I am,” Josh replied without looking away from Tyler. He put his hand on Tyler’s. “Go back to sleep.”  
“You should go to sleep, if anyone. You haven’t slept since yesterday, have you?” Tyler sat up and sat next to Josh, who dropped his head down on Tyler’s shoulder. “You really don’t need to worry.”  
“Yes I… I do.” Josh yawned and tightened his grip on Tyler’s hand, smiling a little bit. His eyes blinked closed, but he jumped and opened them again. “Okay, if you promise me… that you… that you won’t leave, then I’ll go to sleep, okay?”  
“I won’t leave. I promise.” Josh nodded and his eyes slipped closed and remained that way. Tyler gently lied him down and then curled up next to him, pulling his boyfriend’s (well, not officially, but Tyler liked to think) head into the curve between his neck and his shoulder and holding him there. They both fell asleep in this position, and slept undisturbed for a long while.  
Josh jumped awake after a bad nightmare that referenced the previous day’s events, his hands shaking and clammy. He turned to see Tyler open one eye to look at him. Josh took a deep breath and hugged Tyler, trying to calm himself down. He realized at that time that Tyler smelled really good, like vanilla or something.  
“I had a bad dream,” Josh mumbled into Tyler’s soft hair, intertwining his fingers in it. “Sorry for waking you up. Go back to sleep.”  
“It’s too late for that,” Tyler chuckled, propping himself up on his elbows as Josh moved back. “What was the dream about? If you wanna talk about it.”  
“You- um, it was kind of like what happened yesterday.” Josh glanced down at Tyler’s wrist, with Josh’s shirt still tied on it. “But you… succeeded.”  
“Oh.” Tyler’s eyes grew wide. “Oh,” he repeated, sitting up all the way. “Oh, man, I’m sorry. I’m such a terrible person.” He put his head in his hands briefly. “I’m sorry.”  
“It’s fine, but we have to get this off.” Josh reached forward and pulled off the shirt tied around Tyler’s wrist, wincing when he saw it coated in dried blood. “And it’d probably be good if we ran some water over that, too. Just to clean it.”  
“I have some water bottles, if you want to use those.” Tyler shrugged. “Better than nothing.”  
“I mean, if you want. Don’t you think a gas station would be better though?”  
“Those places are really dirty, most of the time, but I guess so.” They stood up and gathered themselves. “Do I look… presentable?”  
“You don’t even need to try, Tyler. You already do. What about me?”  
“You look fine,” Tyler laughed. “We sound like two kids about to go to prom or something.”  
“Whatever,” Josh groaned. “Let’s get outta here.” So, with the mood considerably lighter, the two guys set off to the small town that they could see back on the road, comfortably silent next to each other.  
“Your future is still dark,” Josh said suddenly after casually putting his hand on Tyler’s shoulder. “Like, darker than usual.”  
“Thanks for telling me, I guess,” Tyler murmured, his gaze downcast. Josh felt his heart skip a beat.  
“I didn’t mean to make you-” Josh stopped short as he heard barking, coming from just in front of them. Then a dog came running at them, its paws pounding against the sidewalk. It was a pretty big dog, too. It took Tyler a moment to see it was foaming at the mouth, and that was when he got scared. The dog leapt at him, its jaws snapping just an inch away from his leg, and Tyler took off into the forest just off the road. The dog jumped over branches and undergrowth with strong agility, every time getting closer to Tyler. Finally, the boy turned and jumped up a tree, the dog biting once more at his leg. He felt its sharp teeth just barely graze him as he scrambled up the trunk of the tree and sat shaking on a branch. The dog barked at Tyler for a few moments before seemingly finding another target more its size, and then it ran.  
“Tyler? Are you okay?” someone called, and Tyler looked down to see Josh standing there. “Did it get you?”  
“No,” Tyler shouted down as he slowly climbed back down the tree. “Well, not enough to infect me with rabies or anything. It just scraped my leg.” He looked down and saw a small cut on his leg, the skin not even broken. “It’ll be fine- ow.” Tyler looked down at his wrist, which was stinging with pain, and saw one or two of the cuts had reopened and were bleeding again. “Let’s go, Josh. Hurry.” Josh wondered how strange they looked; two boys with backpacks, one shirtless, walking down the road, with one gripping his wrist against his shirt and the other with tired eyes and messy hair.  
How strange we are, Josh thought. How strange.


	12. Sing To You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next chapter is the end, guys. that's why this one's a little bit shorter.
> 
> are you ready?

The two boys entered the gas station, earning a strange look from the cashier, probably because of how they were dressed, and because they directly headed to the bathroom, walking right next to each other. They shuffled quickly into the bathroom and Tyler shut the door behind them, slightly nervous as to what the cashier thought of them.  
“Alright, clean up quick. I don’t want to spend too much time here.” Both of them pulled off their backpacks and dropped them off, and Tyler gave his friend’s jacket back and turned on the water. He hesitated before sticking his arm under the water and watching it grow red as it flowed down the drain.  
“Ew,” Tyler muttered, grabbing some soap and rubbing it gingerly over the cuts. It stung, but he knew it was probably the best thing to do. Afterwards, they looked a lot better, and his arm wasn’t sticky and red anymore. He wiped off his forearm with a few paper towels, wincing when he rubbed too hard, and turned to Josh. “Can you see my future?”  
“Sure.” Josh touched Tyler’s arm and it showed a future vision of them walking down the road together. “We’re safe, for a while,” he said, patting Tyler’s shoulder. “Don’t worry.”  
“Um- can I wear your jacket again? It’s really warm.”  
“Sure.” Tyler tugged the jacket on and they both got ready to go. “Do you want to buy anything, Josh?”  
“No, thanks. Let’s just go.” Josh avoided the cashier’s gaze as they left, and set off down the street, with no real destination in mind.  
“Josh, can I ask you a question?” Tyler avoided his friend’s eyes, choosing to look at the trees instead. “Why do you stick around? Why don’t you leave me?”  
“Well, this is only part of the reason, but… you remember when you stayed at my house all that time ago? I couldn’t sleep that night, because I guess I wasn’t used to having people over. And while I was just sitting there, staring at the ceiling, I heard you say something.” Tyler’s eyes grew wide, and Josh paused and smiled before he continued. “You sang something, actually. You sing in your sleep sometimes. Anyways, you sang, ‘I don’t care what’s in your hair, I just want to know what’s on your mind.’ And I liked to think you were talking about me. Because no one’s cared about me like that.”  
“I wasn’t sleeping,” Tyler mumbled, meeting Josh’s eyes. “I was awake. Singing.”  
“Oh. To who?”  
“Technically, you. I didn’t think you’d ever… didn’t think you’d hear me sing. I didn’t think I’d live long enough to get that chance.” Tyler looked away and smiled. “I’m glad I got to sing to you.”  
“You sounded wonderful.” Josh laughed and they kept walking in a comfortable silence, interlocking their hands. “Hey, I think I know where we are. There’s a really cool cliff overlooking the sea. We can chill there for a few days, or set up a camp, even.”  
“Take me there,” Tyler said, a smile present on his face. Finally, a permanent place to stay, with Josh no less.  
Unfortunately, no one knew what ‘permanent’ really meant.


	13. Don't Be Afraid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is it. This is the end. Are you ready?

Josh and Tyler sat together near the cliff, maybe a hundred feet away, watching the sunset. Tyler had his head on Josh’s chest, and Josh had his hands in Tyler’s hair. Tyler was humming a tune into Josh’s shirt, and Josh was listening intently, almost falling asleep.  
“Josh?” Tyler murmured quietly after a few minutes, and the boy’s eyes blinked open.  
“Yeah, Ty?” he answered, gently sitting up and pushing Tyler off him. Tyler gave him a pouty face, but giggled afterward.  
“Is there a store that sells blankets here? I really want one.”  
“I’ll buy you a jacket somewhere. I still have money.” Josh reached into his backpack and dug out a twenty dollar bill. “I can’t get you a good one, probably, but it should be enough.”  
“That’s good, thank you.” Josh stood up and dropped his backpack off. “See you later. I love you.”  
“Love you too.” The two of them had gotten into the habit of telling each other that they loved them because they didn’t know how much longer Tyler was going to last. Also, Tyler had noticed that Josh had grown thinner and paler, and there was a constant dark worry in his eyes that he didn’t seem able to hide well enough. His hands seemed to shake whenever Tyler grabbed one of them, and one time, he’d almost fainted during a walk- probably from exhaustion. He had dark circles under his eyes, too. Whenever Tyler asked what was wrong, Josh just smiled and said, “I’m just getting a cold. It always happens. Don’t worry about it.”  
Tyler sighed, alone once more. He snuggled inside of Josh’s jacket, which now seemed more his own than Josh’s. He rested his head on his backpack and curled up on his side, shivering from the worsening temperatures. The sun had left once more, and Tyler was left alone under the moon, a strange, unidentifiable fear nagging at the back of his already-troubled mind. He tried to shove it away and instead curled up into a ball, a shiver working down his spine.  
“Ty-” Josh returned with the blanket and fell silent when he saw Tyler fast asleep on the backpack, breathing slowly and steadily. He looked so peaceful. Josh wondered why he couldn’t be as calm. He’d been on edge ever since Tyler stopped asking to see his future. Josh didn’t want to see it without him asking, but he was so scared. He’d stopped sleeping, and stopped eating unless Tyler told him to. He sat down and put the second jacket over Tyler, tears pricking at his eyes for some reason he didn’t know. He lied down beside Tyler and watched him carefully. He didn’t want this boy to ever leave him. He moved over and took Tyler’s hand, which very gently squeezed his. “Are you awake?” Josh asked.  
No answer. Probably not, Josh decided, turning over on his back and resting his head on his arm. He started to hum a tune under his breath, and like magic, lyrics rose to the surface to match the melody.   
“We are all stranger creatures than when we all started out as kids… culture forbids…” The lyrics seemed strange, and yet, matched. “We have romantic fantasies about what dying truly is… fall off the grid…” Josh stopped himself before he sang any farther, realizing those lyrics were correct. Josh only found himself living as long as Tyler did. His heart skipped a beat and he sat up, suddenly very anxious. What if Tyler was going to die? He was going to die, wasn’t he? Josh had to know when. He had to. He pressed his hand on Tyler’s arm, but he didn’t know that his power didn’t work on sleeping people. Josh grabbed a couple handfuls of grass and threw them off in front of him, his hands sweaty, his eyes open wide. Half of him desperately wanted to wake Tyler up and learn what his future looked like. It had to be okay.  
“Yeah, it’s okay,” Josh murmured to himself, but he still couldn’t calm down. His hands were shaking now, and his stomach hurt, but that might’ve just been hunger. Josh realized he hadn’t eaten in two days due to pure nervousness. He got nauseous when he got anxious, and he’d been in a constant state of anxiety since Tyler started acting happier. It seemed kind of a morbid thing to get scared over, but Tyler hadn’t talked about anything negative for at least a week or two.  
Josh jumped and looked over at Tyler, who had begun to murmur under his breath, suddenly gripping the hood of the new jacket. Josh couldn’t hear him, so he leaned closer, and all he heard was one single word.  
“Scared,” Tyler whispered, his voice breathy and wispy. Josh felt his breathing stop for a moment. “Scared. Scared. Scared. Scared. S… scared…” Tyler’s eyes jumped open suddenly and he looked around, gasping for air. He sat up and, before he really woke up at all, pulled Josh into his arms. “Josh- Josh, I had a nightmare,” he gasped, almost sobbing. “I had a nightmare that you died, Josh… you’re alive, right? This- this isn’t a dream right?”  
“No, it’s not a dream, Tyler. You’re awake, don’t worry.” Josh ran his hand through Tyler’s hair, shushing him. “It’s gonna be okay, Tyler. I’m still here.” He felt a wetness on his shoulder and saw that Tyler was crying, his shoulders shaking.  
“Okay.” Tyler sat back and rubbed his eyes and face, looking Josh in the eye. “Now that I’m okay… I’m worried about you, Josh.”  
“W- what?” Josh grinned, but it was a sad smile, his eyes still terrified. He couldn’t break his gaze away from tyler. “What do you mean?”  
“It’s obvious you’re not doing well. You’ve stopped eating. Everyone can tell.” Josh raised his shaking hands to his chest and clutched them together, cracking his knuckles. “What’s bothering you?”  
“Nothing.” Josh said that a little too hastily, a little too eagerly. “Nothing,” he repeated, taking a deep breath. “I need to go take a walk. Can you watch our stuff?”  
“Josh,” Tyler warned, standing up as Josh did. “I’m not going to go with you, as long as you promise not to do anything.”  
“Anything like what?” Josh glanced towards the walking path nearby. He really needed to go and get away for a minute, even if he was worried about Tyler. He knew deep in him that he really needed to just not worry about anything for a while.  
“Don’t hurt yourself. Don’t do what I did.” Tyler looked away and bit his lip for a few seconds. “Yeah, don’t do anything like what I did, okay?” His voice was shaking the second time he said it, and his lip was trembling. “Okay?”  
“Okay, Ty. Don’t worry.”  
“Promise?”  
“Promise,” Josh finalized and he turned and walked away, trying to steady his shaky breathing. He was going to be okay. So was Tyler. Josh found himself humming the same tune as before as he walked, and he was singing along too, this time to a different part of the song. “I’ll kindly enter into rooms of depression, where idle hands and ceiling fans will take my life again…” Josh rubbed his eyes out of exhaustion before realizing there were tears there. He blinked them away best he could and kept walking. “I know there’s someone at the door- they called for help; of this I’m sure- but do I want to say goodbye, to all the glowing eyes?” Josh stopped dead and looked up, confused. He had no idea what he was even singing, and he had a vague memory of hearing it somewhere. He decided it didn’t matter, and he kept walking.  
Suddenly, Josh’s head began pounding, like one other time that he couldn’t quite recall. He put a hand to his head and took a deep breath, shutting his eyes tightly. When the headache faded to a bearable point, he opened his eyes again.  
“No,” he whispered as he reappeared back at the cliff. Tyler was perched on the end of it, his hands in his pockets as he looked out at the sea, waves crashing into the rocks below. “Tyler, no-”  
“Josh? What are you doing?” Tyler asked as Josh lunged at him, his anxiety ramping up. Josh was never like this. Well, almost- “Josh! I’m okay!”  
“Tyler, get away from that cliff!” Josh yelled, grabbing Tyler’s arm and pulling him. Tyler held his ground instead of moving with Josh, angered.  
“I’m fine!” Tyler yelled, struggling to pull away.  
“Just get away from there!” Josh was screaming now, tears running down his face. “Tyler- just listen to me!”  
“I’m not going to jump! I’m not going to hurt myself! It’s-” Time seemed to stop. Tyler’s leaned back, his eyes growing wide, and it felt like he was moving slowly. Oh, so, slowly. He saw the moon and the stars above him, and he felt one leg rising into the air. “Josh,” he breathed as time suddenly started up again, and he fell back. His foot slipped off the cliff and met nothing but air as he watched it rise far, far away from him. The sky seemed to get farther away as he fell, and he screamed. He screamed and he screamed, and he screamed.  
Josh stared from above, his eyes blank. He couldn’t even take in what he’d done. He couldn’t tell what had happened, and it was like he was stuck in a trance. Tyler screamed at him and tried to get his attention, and finally, Josh slowly turned his head and met Tyler’s eyes.  
And, as Tyler hit the water, Josh’s vision went black, and he hit the ground. His eyes shot open and he ran, screaming Tyler’s name. He threw off his jacket, his shirt, and his shorts, so he had less things that would drag him down. Josh ran to the edge of a cliff, and then skidded to a stop, hearing a quiet voice in his head. It was tired and muffled, but he immediately recognized it as Tyler’s voice.  
‘Josh. Josh. Josh. Josh. Josh,’ it repeated over and over, and Josh’s eyes began to water. He ran and jumped into the water before he made himself hesitated, and his hands hit the water first as he dived in. He rose to the surface and looked around wildly, unable to breathe, even though his head was above water. ‘Josh, Josh, Josh,’ the voice whispered, its voice getting quieter. Josh saw his best friend- boyfriend- whatever he was- with half of him on a rock, half in the water. His shirt was snagged on a jutting piece of rock, and he was covered in bruises and cuts. Josh swam to him and climbed upon the rock, choking back sobs.  
“Tyler?” Josh gasped, unable to tell what was tears and what was water. He tasted an overwhelming scent of salt in his mouth, and he was cold and shaking. He grabbed Tyler’s face and lifted it, and saw Tyler’s face was still and pale. His eyes were even closed. “Ty… Tyler?!”  
‘Don’t be afraid,’ Tyler’s voice whispered in his head. Josh barely noticed, but Tyler reached his hand up and rested it on Josh’s wrist. ‘Don’t be afraid,’ it murmured again. And then, barely understandable… ‘We’re going home. I love you, Josh.’  
Then, the hand dropped, and Josh was truly alone.  
\- - -  
After that day, neither Josh nor Tyler were seen again. No one ventured down the cliffs to see if Josh was still there, alive, and it is thought that he died right next to his friend just days later, most likely from hypothermia. It was rumored that he’d died singing, and if you go right to the edge of the cliff, you can feel a soft wind on your back, and two soft voices singing, ‘Don’t be afraid. We’re going home.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's over. how'd you like it?


End file.
